Review of Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb

Fitz is fatherless. He was born without a father and is called unpleasant names in all three books of the Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb. Assassin’s Apprentice is the first installment. As an opening to the world of the Six Duchies, I was intrigued.

Spoiler Free Summary

This book was written way back in 1995. It’s not a new release or even a recently written story. I’d never read anything by Robin Hobb before this, and I wasn’t disappointed. There’s always this fear that when you pick up an older book, the writing will be hard to read, or the story won’t be as enjoyable. At least, it’s a fear for me. It definitely was a slow-going book. Robin introduced the characters and the setting, and the political intrigue. I love books that throw that dynamic into it, the politics, the drama, royalty, and class distinctions. I’m a fan.

So back to Fitz. He was born a bastard, not just to a man and woman, but to a prince/king-in-waiting. Oh, the scandal. Royalty does as it pleases; this shouldn’t come as a surprise. However, Hobb named her characters after their characteristics in this book. Their names portrayed their personalities, morals, and how they held themselves. Fitz was born the Prince of Chivalry, and obviously, it’s not particularly chivalrous to produce a bastard child when you’re married.

This caused some issues in the royal family of the Farseers. Fitz was dropped off one day at the castle and given to King Shrewd. What was one to do with a young boy no one knew of? That was the question. Prince Chivalry had two brothers. Prince Verity and Prince Regal. Verity was the one who happened to meet Fitz first and decided to give him to the Stable Master Burrich. So there is where Fitz’s story starts. He lives in the stables and is raised by Burrich, but one cannot leave a bastard to the king-in-waiting to himself. Fitz was chosen to remain in the royal family, but only if he obliged his king, his grandfather. He was taught to be an assassin, a king’s man. Fitz also was born with a magical ability called the Wit. It’s something that is highly looked down upon. It’s the ability to connect on a deeper level to animals. He was also born with the ability to Skill but more on that later.

You would think that reading a story about a king’s assassin would be a story full of constant action and adventure. But, it was pretty slow going and descriptive for most of the book. The last chunk of the story is where things pick up, and the action starts.

What I liked:

• I loved Robin Hobb’s writing style. Initially, it took me a bit to get used to it, but her writing became addictive. You just had to keep reading because her method of slow introductions and sharing bits and pieces of the story kept you intrigued. I have a hard time putting her books down.
• The politics, the political intrigue. I love all things in this genre. I love reading about the royals, class distinctions, and scandals. The hidden doors or the secret compartments, the spies and the guards who betray you. All of that stuff is so fun to read about.

What I didn’t like:

• Sometimes the story just seemed to drag, BUT in hindsight, sometimes, that is needed to get you to the next page.
• I didn’t like that every chapter had some history written before it began. It didn’t kill the story for me, but sometimes I found it hard to get through, and I just wanted to get into the chapter.